Chapter 102

I observed Oonagh doing a subtle scan while looking around the Council headquarters; outwardly she was looking quite amazed. With us were Hermes, Róisín, Marnie, Kyra, Adsila and Arwen as well as Saress, who was Oonagh’s guardian.

“Be careful scanning the wards. I’m told they’re not very forgiving to being probed,” I murmured to her.

“Ah, yes,” she replied, with a slight blush at getting caught.

“Everyone does it and everyone gets the warning,” I chuckled.

“It is most impressive,” she nodded.

“That it is,” Hermes agreed. “Developed from a Veda design and adapted for the Council as their headquarters and as a redoubt of last resort by Simon Magus and Mage Rowenna.”

At this point Morgana, Cixi and Tara entered the room and greeted us all.

“Luka refuses to plead guilty,” Cixi informed us. “She is claiming her actions were justifiable homicide based upon Oonagh’s history. She has some sympathy within the Council and therefore there will be the trial which will begin in half an hour.”

“How much sympathy?” Marnie asked.

“Not that much,” Tara replied. “Just amongst a few who lost loved ones during the Mage Wars and wish to see what the Council intends to do about this.”

“I will not request a death sentence, neither immediate nor by life imprisonment,” Oonagh stated, having been informed of the two most extreme options available to the Council.

“I doubt that will be one of the options considered,” Morgana replied. “But it will be noted and gain you some support as showing you to be different now to what you were then.”

“I really do not care what they think. I know what I was; I do not expect nor deserve sympathy. I am somewhat different now, due to circumstances, but only due to circumstances,” Oonagh shrugged.

“Would you go back to what you were?” Morgana asked, narrow eyed.

“No. I was a monster, I know that now. I am far happier on Jingol and assisting with this mission than I ever was as Queen. But, my past shaped my personality and I cannot help how I view things at times,” she admitted.

“True, we all carry that sort of baggage,” Morgana agreed with a sigh.

Other than engaging in small talk, nothing else of note happened until a soft but insistent chime sounded and we made our way to the Council chamber for the trial.

Unlike the trial of Clarence, there were no ambassadorial attendees, except for Mage William who was there representing Verenestra’s interests as Oonagh was a subject of hers. That said, there was full Council attendance, including their various aides, as well as a couple of Seers from Julia’s department.

We were ushered to the roped off area designated for witnesses, which was directly opposite the side roped off for the jury. In this case the jury was made up of only eight Mages, each of whom I knew quite well and included Mages Sofya and Zola.

Luka, wearing anti-casting restraints, was then led in to the centre of the floor by two enforcers. She would be questioned by Cixi in her role of Interrogator Prime.

Mage Simon, in his position as Senex Veneficus Penitus Orbis, opened the proceedings. “Mage Luka, you stand here accused of the attempted murder of the former Queen Oonagh and of the attempted murder of Journeyman Mage John,” he stated. “How do you plead?”

“Not guilty!” Luka replied in a firm voice.

“Do you wish for a legal counsel and defender?”

“No. I will stand by my decisions alone.”

“Mage Cixi, you have the floor,” he stated.

“Thank you, Mage Simon,” she replied and moved to face Luka. She gave the Council a brief description of the events that had taken place in the Outer Realms, though all there knew of them, but a procedure had to be followed. “You claim that what you did to Oonagh, and thereby to John, was justified?” she finally asked Luka.

“I do! There is no room in these universes for monsters!” Luka replied in harsh tones.

“Yet you became one when you broke your word,” Cixi replied. “I call upon Cirsan Arwen.”

Arwen moved to the centre of the chamber, facing Cixi and Luka.

“Cirsan Arwen, what would the likely result have been on Tír na nÓg should Luka have succeeded?”

“It would most likely have caused civil insurrection. The remnants of the Daoine Sidhe would have blamed the Alliance for not protecting Oonagh and may even have considered it as a deliberate attempt by the royalists to rid themselves of an inconvenient Fae,” Arwen replied thoughtfully.

“So, Oonagh’s death would most likely have caused further deaths?”

“Without a doubt. This is why my mother has kept her alive. We did not wish to create a martyr and, thereby, a probable civil war. Therefore she was originally banished to Jingol, amongst the Dökkálfar, where she would be safer and isolated from those who still supported her.”

“Did things change with the destruction of the Akmonii?”

“No. There are still some Fae houses who only keep the peace in the hope that Oonagh will return to power. Her signing of a Calvagh renouncing the throne has, however, somewhat stifled dissent. The signing of the Calvagh has created unease at the liberty she gained through it amongst those loyal to the crown.”

“This is merely guessing on your part. The majority of the Fae would have been satisfied if I killed that monster!” Luka stated.

“The majority would be disturbed that a human did it. The majority of my people are still highly insular and mistrusting of humanity. It will take a number of centuries for this to be diminished and they would not accept the fact that you took upon yourself the obligations of a Fae to claim you did it for them,” Arwen shrugged.

There were a few more questions, but Arwen stood firm in her answers that a human killing Oonagh would stir up unrest amongst the Fae, a view that was confirmed by Mage William when he was called forward.

The questioning then turned to Mage Marnie...

“Luka is your friend, is she not?” Cixi began.

“Yes, we have known each other for over two hundred years.”

“You were aware of Luka’s hostility towards Oonagh?”

“I was. The death of her husband devastated her and she has yet to truly move on. She blamed Oonagh for his death in starting the Mage Wars.”

“Did she seek help in overcoming her grief?”

“Not that I’m aware of. I considered it something she would resolve herself eventually as neither of us expected to run across Oonagh at any stage in our work.”

“When you did, Luka’s antagonism came to the fore, did it not?”

“It did,” Marnie sighed.

“What did you do to combat or control it?”

“Luka was warned several times to cease her verbal hostility towards Oonagh, both by myself as the team leader and once by Mage Roxanne, the expedition leader. She eventually gave me her word that she would stop the deliberate goading.”

“Did she stop?”

“No, not really.”

“Did Oonagh do anything to provoke her during these exchanges?”

“No. Though her stark indifference to Luka may have exacerbated the situation,” Marnie admitted.

“Stark indifference?” Cixi asked.

“I do not know Oonagh very well, few of us do. However, I do believe Oonagh understands herself perfectly, from who she was to what she did and to what she is now. I rather doubt any of us could antagonise her to a degree that would get past her own knowledge of herself. Hence, she is starkly indifferent to those who would try to goad her, which, with Luka, caused her to become ever more hostile.”

“I see,” Cixi nodded. “You could have dismissed Luka and sent her home?”

“I could have and now wish I had. Luka’s expertise, such as it is, on the Outer Realms was valuable to us and I felt we had the situation under control. She had given me her word after all, and I never dreamt she’d attempt something so terrible, especially as she knew we’d have to attempt to mount a rescue.”

Through all this Luka remained silent, though frequently glaring at her friend ... and occasionally at Oonagh, during the questioning until Cixi dismissed Marnie. Others were then called as all the events were unfolded and scrutinised until eventually Oonagh was called forward.

“Were you aware of the hostility of Luka?” Cixi asked.

“I was. I was also warned to be careful when out in public as Mage Marnie felt there was some danger to me. This was also reiterated to me by several others,” Oonagh replied.

“Did you not feel Luka to be a danger to you?”

“She is a Mage, she could be a danger to anything, should she choose. However, I trusted my companions to ensure my safety.”

“Do you consider they failed you?”

“No. This attack was unexpected and well-timed. John also returned for me in an instant and risked his life to get me to safety. He is the only reason I chose to work with the expedition. He was the one human I knew I could trust. There are others now, but he has always been a man of his word to me, even when I did not care for what he had to say.”

“Why did you not respond more ... vigorously to Luka’s verbal sniping at you?”

“She said nothing to me that I did not already know or had not recently considered. Nor would antagonising her verbally in return have achieved anything. She considers me a monster. In that she is right. By any race’s standards I was truly monstrous in my decisions and actions. Perhaps I do deserve to die,” Oonagh shrugged.

“Perhaps, but that was not and never should be an act of revenge and an endangerment to others,” Cixi nodded.

“No. She should not have done it as her actions endangered John. I cannot see any circumstances where he would have done anything differently,” Oonagh agreed.

“You are directly responsible for the death of my husband!” Luka almost hissed. “Death is what you deserve!”

“If that is the case then you are directly responsible for the many thousands of slaves killed when you destroyed the fortresses on Tír na nÓg,” Oonagh replied. “After all, you are employed by the Council and therefore, in your duty, carry the responsibility for its actions.”

“That is different; we were in a war that you started!”

“A killing of innocents is still a killing of innocents. Yes, I started the war. Yes, I ordered the deaths of many. But, there is blood on the hands of this Council too. The main difference being that you won and can see it as a necessity of the greater good,” Oonagh replied in cool tones, making a good few of the Council nod and look troubled.

“At least we didn’t eat our victims!”

“Neither did I.”

“Liar!”

“I do not lie. I never ate the flesh of humans.”